Gabriel (Spain)
New Order have been more influential because (nearly) 3 decades is a very long time. New Order are, obviously, much more than merely JD minus Curtis, but remember other bands made the same move (pursuing in spite of losing lead singer/songwriter) without changing their name. Maybe we should see them as the same band, only in two different periods. On the other hand, it's a long musical way from Blue Monday to Waiting for the Siren's Call! What really matters, though, is this: thank you, NO, for your music, that is both moving AND fun (a rare combination of qualities).

Dana
I believe New Order is more influential simply because (well, because of Ian Curtis's suicide) they've been around longer than Joy Division was. Many bands have been influcenced by their unique sound, and still are even today. Joy Division never had the opportunity to impact the world and pop community as much as New Order did.

Neha
This is up in the air by all means. Some of New Order's breaking hits like Blue Monday and Bizarre Love Triangle are all about Ian Curtis. Which makes me think how could New Order have become what they are without the legacy of Joy Division. Then again New Order takes a complete new twist on their sound with some their songs. I think they are both influential to varying extremes in different avenues.

SUNIL SOLANKI
I AM CRAZY ABOUT NEW ORDER , THEY HAVE ABOUT 110 SONGS THAT I LIKE , THERE IS NO BAND THAT I KNOW THAT I LIKE THAT HAS THAT MANY SONGS THAT I LIKE THEY ARE THE GREATEST, FROM THEIR FIRST ALBUM TO WFTSC , THE NEW ALBUM BLEW ME AWAY AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY IT. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW ONE. BERNARD SUMNER HAS ONE OF THE GREATEST VOICES. LOOK AT ALL THESE HITS THEY HAVE

Mike, Wales
Musically no difference NO is a progession of JD but lyrically world part. Ian Curtis should be consinded one of tthe greatest poets of the 20th century.

19th fret
Um, why do we even pit JD against NO? Not fair to the memory of Ian or to the three that moved on: Bernard, Peter, and Stephen. By the way while Ian was special let's not forget Peter Hook's peculiar way of playing bass ("you mean that's NOT a guitar???")... plus Stephen and Bernard are great in their own way. Both JD and NO are really one and both and that one are and is legend... ¿comprende? Ummm, nevermind...

Stumpy C J.
Both, or perhaps I mean neither. Music should be about life and love, but with Joy Division and New Order all is death. JD it is (tragic)suicide and morosity, and with New Order I have the memory of an ex girlfriend who tried to kill me while I was listening to 'True Faith'.

Teeps from Hove via Market Deeping
They're both of equal importance and it was a very logical progression from JD to NO.

gary numan
gary numan

kristina
curtis is one of my all time idols. joy division will always be the love of my music life

Jodi, from Newcastle
New Order shades it. New Order 3 Joy Division 2, Judged by the most memorable songs, Blue monday, True Faith and World in Motion, versus Atmosphere and Love Will Tear us Apart. Commercially New Order also win. However my most influential songs were Thieves Like Us, Blue Monday and Decades. And the best album ever is New Order - Technique. New Order have been the most influential in UK and international and had the chance to evolve but Joy Division started New Order!!

Hannah
Joy Division! Ian Curtis is the most influential frontman in indie history. After hearing ''Love Will Tear Us Apart'' I feel so awestruck. They have influenced so many bands with their music and I applaud them for that. Well done.

dave
I personally would say that Joy Division are better, but I also like New Order.

Alonzo
2 great bands.What's the point? JD was JD and NO is still NO. You like or you do not like, like tastes and colors. Who knows ? JD was kind of precursor but like DC, Certain Ration, Stockolm Monster and many other factory bands. I think that Factory Records was more influential than JD or NO and no way all JD/NO fan are DM fan. Cheers

mark c
which is more potent, necessary and pure- the seed which was joy division or the fruit? without the evolution into a fully ripened fruit, it could be said that the seed is pointless but without the packed energy of the seed there could be no fruit. Admittedly, the fruit is now in its autumnal state, as new order are. joy division was the start of it all but where will it end?

Deepz , Singapore
If Curtis was around today, Joy Division would still become New Order. The music would evolve anyway. It's the same band minus one member.

mike
JOY DIVISION because they made me think, new order made me dance.

Mauricio Laranjeira
Both are fantastic. Their influence can't be compared, as Gods can't be.

Jono
In the underground, Joy Division in my opinion; no question. No-one has ever married brute force and beauty with such a nonchalant energy. Many have tried. As for New Order, well, no-one even really tried to copy them, but they have had a more tangible overground impact. It's impossible and mad (but very typical of the interweb) to hypothesise on the future sound of Joy Division had Ian not died. New Order was not so much a 'development' of the Joy Division sound, more a different room of the same dark mansion. Pretentious? Moi?

Chris Nash
I agree with previous posters’ that both bands were equally influential, but that they influenced different genres. Joy Division (although not a Goth band) influenced many Goth bands and their sounds. New Order took over from Kraftwerk in influencing most bands with an 'electronic' sound. Both bands are equally important and with an enduring and very long shadow over pop, punk and electronic music worldwide.

DJ Introvert
This is a comparison of apples to oranges. They were very different bands, and the evolution between them was rather fast. I would say that New Order has been more influential, but only because they had more time in which to influence others.

Todd
I believe that since New Order has had more of a variety in their sound, (maybe because they've had more time) they are more influential than Joy Division...but of course this is only one band we're talking about here.

DJ Grouper, Kawasaki, Japan
25 years ago, when I was 21, I lived in Washington, D.C. There was a fantastic record store at DuPont Circle, where DJs from the old 9:30 Club were buyers & I would spend about 1/4 of my salary there on the latest imports from the U.K. & Germany. I bought first editions of every Joy Division LPs & 12" single on Factory Records & they were just the most beautifully packaged records I had ever seen. Joy Division's music was even more astounding, though, frankly, a bit dangerous to my psyche to listen to because : I had just lost the love of my life & was deeply immersed in German literature, especially ‘Sturm und Drang’ stuff like ‘Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werthe’r & the dark, opiated, shell-shocked WWI veteran poetry of George Trakl (I was trying to translate it into English). Anyway, I felt I knew exactly where Ian Curtis was coming from & wasn't surprised at all when I heard that he'd committed suicide. Almost every Joy Division song sounded like a suicide note to me. I mean, just listen closely to the words of "Isolation," for example. Anyway, I started doing some Dj-ing in D.C. when New Order's first records came out in America & New Order was always included in my sets along with Joy Division, The Velvet Underground & The Doors. I couldn't get enough New Orders's use of synths & electronics, how Kraftwerk's & other Krautrockers influence had worked its way into the strong, impending sense of doom of Joy Division's sound. I've been a rabid New Order fan ever since & their two latest singles "Krafty" & "Jetstream" have just brought tears of joy to my eyes because I've been going through another pretty dark period in my life lately, but these songs are like the best medicine for depression, global malaise, y'know, the 21st century blues. New Order is an organic extension of Joy Division, so the question of which band is more influential doesn't make a lot of sense to me. All I can say is that I listen to both bands to let myself know that the dark feelings of impending doom that I have about life on this planet are not unique to me. These mad musicians from Manchester speak my language. But I must admit that I play my New Order records more than I do my Joy Division records because Bernard, Hooky, Stephen Morris et al. are survivors & true sonic explorers & their music helps keep me going, no lie. Sorry to be so verbose, but this is where it's at for me. Viva Joy Division! New Order, hope to see them live in Japan soon.

Todd
They are the same band really. Joy Division were strong vocally, musically they were finding their sound. New Order is strong lyrically and musically still finding new sounds. Joy Division wasn't together long enough to influence as much as New Order (unfortunately). New Order was involved in pioneering dance/rock combo.

Stuart
I like everyone it seems feel that the two were equally influential. It seemed at first that Joy Division had more of an influence on Indie and rock music: whilst the poppier, dancier sound of post 1985 New Order stuff, influenced what dance music was evolving into as the 90's came and went. But now the two genres seem to have merged its wouldn’t be strange to hear Transmission in many of today’s electro influenced dance clubs nor would it be strange to hear Regret, Fine Time or Round and Round in an Indie night It’s hard to say what Joy Division would have evolved into: I don’t feel Ian Curtis would have embraced the pop sound as much as the members of New Order did, nobody can say and nobody will ever know. What is certain though is that if New Order didn’t exist the world would be without some of the current brilliant bands that the New Order sound influenced, and maybe some of the greatest pop, dance, rock, indie music ever created, which its safe to say is what New Orders music has been.

Neil, Manchester
Joy Division influenced the much underrated 'A Certain Ratio', who in turn must have been an influence on Underworld. I don’t think New Order really influenced anyone, as they are still wonderfully unique.

bobby
I don't think that you can separate the importance of the two. New Order is what Joy Division would have evolved into if Ian were still alive.

Daniel
Yeah, equally influential. Whereas Joy Division is an eye opener, exposing the darker sides of the human mind and heart, New Order open the window in a dark room and take the melancholy to the dancefloor with beautiful and unforgettable sounds and beats. I love them both. In different ways.

Patrick Daly
That's like asking who more important the Archbishop or the PM. New Order mainly because it changed the way the world listened to pop music. Unlike most long running bands, nO has stayed on the cutting edge, and was never scared to change its sound. The difference with nO was they didn't change to sell records. They changed because that's what they where into, and enjoyed playing. But somehow the pop of True Faith to Mesh to the Perfect Kiss to Jetstream resonates as pure. That's why they are still around.

patrick chaiyanam, Bangkok
They are both the greatest band: Joy Division is the hard side, New Order is the soft and art side both are the pioneering of electronic sound.

Miggy, Cali
"Avenues all lined with trees, Picture me and then you start watching"

RICHARD
New Order are more influential their sound can be heard in new bands, plus they started dance music. Radio should play them more. They also made the greatest footie anthem!

ste higgins
New Order by a long way are more influential. Can anyone else name a different Joy Division tune other than "love will tear us apart"? This effectively makes them a one hit wonder. I know the real hardcore fans will point to other tunes, but for the rest of us, it's a struggle to name anything else. New Order moved with the times and will always be the more influential. At least we can name more than one tune by them.

jimtid
I think of Joy Division as the seed to New Order's success. After Ian's demise I think the band were brave to carry on and create dance music as we know it.

New Order
New Order with Ian Curtis would've been the most successful band ever. Think Ian Curtis on Blue Monday.

Ian Wallis
Joy Division was a huge influence. To then to change your sound completely and be a huge influence again as New Order is a remarkable achievement!

Manu Dijon France
New Order is a great influence. And about Depeche Mode, well, when I heard ‘Enjoy the Silence’ for the First time, I wondered why Hookie had left New Order for Depeche Mode. More seriously, I guess that throughout the times Depeche Mode and New Order were really close and definitely the two most important bands in the 80s as far as electronic music are concerned.

davie, Glasgow
Most influential? If Joy Division were around as much as New Order they would have been most influential. But unfortunately New Order lost a special talent in Ian Curtis...but they carried on to be very influential. If Ian was around they would be even bigger. NEW ORDER at T IN THE PARK...happiness

Jason Allen Martin
New Order is way more influential for me. I mean to have a base guitar to have the lead that takes me to new place, so thanks New Order, Jason of Marion, NC, USA

Mourad
Curtis voice is still irreplaceable and unchanging .The end of Joy Division was a disaster for New Wave fans and for people who looked to a strange music and subject. I had a chance to discover New Order live in 1982, they were great with ‘temptation’.

darren powell
They just altered the rules and played the game their way but New Order took the spirit to the next level... Joy Division leaves you with a big what if feeling

Cecil, from Canada.
Since New Order *was* Joy Division, It would be Joy Division. However New Order's done what few bands ever do. They made their own influential band. In effect they were influential on two separate levels. Possibly the best 'alternative' band, ever.

sean r james
Put this on CD and sell New Order documentary!

NERDWORE DJ
Both Joy Division & New Order are simply astounding bands. I think the evolution of Joy Division would have been down a different path. It was a very smooth transition none the less. I was raised on Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, The Strolling Bones [now known as the antiques road show], Roxy music, Santana, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Albert Collins, early Elvis, Willie Dixon, Led Zeppelin, Duke Ellington, The Ramones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Jeff Beck, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Who, Primal Scream, Chemical Brothers....the list goes on and on. I have to tell you that simply said New Order is the best band the world has ever heard. They are so immensely talented, so powerfully mesmerizing to listen to. I can listen to them over and over and over....I wish they would move to Toronto. P.S. They have influenced everybody that has come along since the end of the 70s’ and quite a few cats before them. They are the coolest of the cool.

Claudio V.
Joy Division: "My sad side" New Order: "My happy side"

Eduardo C. S, from Brazil
Hey....New Order are clearly more influential. I know Joy Division sounds better in some rare times, but thats not the point for me now... so I would like to ask a question: I always see New Order as a Depeche Mode kind of "brother", although they are quite diferent. All New Order fans are Depeche Mode fans, so... have they ever met? Do they know that? Why don't they make a song together? Like, a song for peace...:-)uhauha

Karine
I think they have both influence… Their respective "sound", the way their music is/was produced (and they're taking a great part on it), with a lot of experimentation, make them special, and a musician (anyone in fact) can hear that ! You can't say this is just "dance", "rock" or "pop" music !

Chemical
They are effectively the same band. Their canon is without peer and they've rarely put a foot wrong, which is more than can be said for most bands. It's often said that, to fully understand New Order, you have to appreciate Joy Division and I'd say that was true. They are so many different things to different people, something which makes them unique. They are not just a this band or a that band; they're multi-faceted , diverse and truly special.

Gavin Culloty,Birmingham
Both Bands are great Joy Division and New Order are pioneers in their field and have influenced so many acts and they also make Robbie Williams sound like the Crazy Frog.

PAUL
It could be said that Joy Division invented Goth rock and New Order invented Dance music, That one band (and they are one band that has evolved) has been so influential in different musical genres is tribute to their greatness and uniqueness

Graeme
You can't say one is more important than the other. New Order is the evolution of Joy Division. They are one and the same

Shug Sludden
Both have been as influential as each other. In early (and current) interviews Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Manic Street Preachers, The Charlatans, Oasis, Happy Mondays, Moby, Interpol, The Killers, The Bravery, Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream amongst many others have cited both bands, Joy Division spawned bands playing a darker type of music, whilst New Order gave electronic music a good kick up the arse as well as staying cool with the pop and rock fraternity.

lee brown
i think new order as they were the best at this year's t in the park, thats the only reason

Michael
I suppose it depends when you were able to appreciate music. I was too young to know about Joy Division but I was at an age where I could hear and apprieciate New Order. And I've loved New Order ever since.I've also had the chance to then listen to Joy Division and I feel that the two bands are so intertwined that BOTH of them must be regarded as equally influential.

Dean Starkey
Bernard Sumnner has said in interviews that Ian Curtis was playing Kraftwerk records & saying how exciting this new sound was. So I guess it was just progression. The only difference being New Order have now been around for 25 years

Harry
In simple terms Joy Division are New Order and love won't tear them apart.

David from Wishaw
New Order have definitely been far more influential, probably because they have been around longer and had more opportunity to experiment. Their influence on indie and dance music is inescapable. Although, I still wish that Ian hadn't died and wonder what Joy Division would have sounded like today if they were still going.

Dookie
Joy Division because without them there would be no New Order.

Luke
They're the same band - so they are both as important as each other. Pure class

Mark /Antwerp Belgium
This question is not so important. JD & NO both influenced many musicians, people, even me. I've never met a group with so many contradictions and paradoxes. They still talk about JD these days, but I don't believe anyone shall remember NO over 25 years on a blue monday. But who cares...

Didier RAVEANE - from Belgium
Both, equally, they turned the music world upside down, they created and crafted a range of sounds all of their own, not to speak about the overall magic and uniqueness of their songs and live performances.

Cyrille from Limoges France
New order is more influential than Joy Division, and I really think that New order was the future of Joy Division, and I'm sure that if Ian Curtis was not dead, he would have sung Blue Monday or Primitive Notion for example, certainly with other words but music would have been the same one.

Paul from Newcastle
New Order - the way they have influenced so many artists across so many musical styles, in my opinion no other band has had this effect over the last 25 years of their career.

tiblow, from brazil
both. is the same thing. a natural follow up.

Luke
New Order. I think JD would have made their mark even if NO had not carried on. Part of NO's influence is that they carried on and developed JD's sound, particularly in their early albums and kept the JD/Curtis legend alive. You can still hear JD in (some of) the songs they do today

Marlon
I really like them both Tatu are good as well

Robin Sheridan
At this very second in time it is clear Joy division were more influential but overall it is probably new order...

Richard, Leeds
The remarkable thing about Joy Division/New Order is that they have BOTH been equally influential to different genres of music. I can't think of any other group who have not one, but two groundbreaking roles in the history of modern music.

Ant
New Order had a far greater influence over music as a whole. They practically started dance music as we know it through the Hacienda and their input into Factory records.

marlon, from Brasil
Joy Division is more influential than New Order because it influenced New Order

Timz
I think had New Order carried on the Joy Division style but evolved it with the changing times so you can't really talk about one being more influential without the other. Both had great influential tunes and albums in their own right.